Fluoride Action Network

State Fluoride Database

Read the latest fluoride news from your state; find out if your town is fluoridated, see if any communities have recently rejected fluoridation, learn if your state has a law that mandates fluoridation, and other fluoride-related information.

Massachusetts

WATER FLUORIDATION STATUS:

Massachusetts FLUORIDE DATA FOR EACH WATER SYSTEM

• 2020: Levels of Fluoride in the State’s Drinking Water and Fluoridation Status10 Public Water Systems with fluoride levels over 0.71 ppm.


For a quick overview, Michael Dolan, in his November 2021 Fluoridation Review, listed these cities and towns in Massachusetts:

The following list of fluoridated cities and towns was obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website, dated January 2014. We have not included as fluoridated eighteen towns that are listed, but have only a few residents receiving fluoridated water, or where only institutional inmates are receiving fluoridated water.

Fluoridated cities and towns: Acton, Acushnet, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Ashburnham, Athol, Attleboro, Bedford, Belmont, Beverly, Billerica, Boston, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Canton, Chelsea, Cohasset, Concord, Danvers, Dartmouth [unspecified, diluted fluoride concentration between April and October], Dedham, Dracut, Duxbury, Essex, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Gardner, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Hingham, Holden, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Hull, Ipswich, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln, Longmeadow, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester by the Sea, Mansfield, Marblehead, Marlborough, Medford, Medway, Melrose, Middleton, Millis, Milton, Nahant, Natick, New Bedford, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, North Andover, North Attleboro, Northborough, North Reading, Norwood, Oak Bluffs, Oxford, Peabody, Pembroke, Plainville, Quincy, Reading, Revere, Rockport, Rutland, Salem, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Sommerville, Southboro, Southbridge, Stoughton, Stoneham, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Swampscott, Swansea, Taunton, Templeton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsboro, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wenham, Wellesley, Westborough, Westford, Westminster, West Newbury, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn.

Non-fluoridated cities and towns: All of Berkshire County, all of Franklin County, all of Hampshire County except Amherst, all of Hampden County except for Holyoke and Longmeadow, all of Cape Cod. The individual non-fluoridated municipalities are: Abington, Adams, Agawam, Alford, Amesbury, Aquinnah, Ashby, Ashfield, Ashland, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Barre, Becket, Belchertown, Bellingham, Berkley, Berkshire, Berlin, Bernardston, Blackstone, Bolton, Blandford, Bourne,  Boxborough, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brimfield, Brockton, Brookfield, Buckland, Carlisle, Carver, Charlemont, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Cheshire, Chester, Chesterfield, Chicopee, Chilmark, Clarksburg, Clinton, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Dalton, Deerfield, Dennis, Dighton, Douglas, Dover, Drury, Dudley, Dunstable,  East Bridgewater, East Brookfield, Eastham, Easthampton, East Longmeadow, Easton, Edgartown, Egremont, Erving, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Florida, Foxborough, Georgetown, Gill, Goshen, Grafton, Granby, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Groton, Hadley, Halifax, Hampden, Hancock, Hanover, Hanson, Hardwick, Harvard, Harwich, Hatfield, Hawley, Haydenville, Heath, Hinsdale, Holbrook, Holland, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hubbardston, Huntington, Kingston, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lanesboro, Lee, Leicester, Lenox, Leominster, Leverett, Littleton, Ludlow, Lunenberg, Marion, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medfield, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleborough, Middlefield, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Monroe, Monson, Montague, Montgomery, Mount Washington, Nantucket, New Ashford, New Braintree, Newbury, New Marlborough, New Salem, North Adams, Norfolk, Northampton, Northbridge, North Brookfield, Northfield, Norton, Norwell, Oakham, Orange, Orleans, Otis, Palmer, Paxton, Pelham, Pepperell, Peru, Petersham, Phillipston, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Plymouth, Plympton, Princeton, Provincetown, Randolph, Raynham, Rehoboth, Richmond, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Rowe, Royalston, Russell, Salisbury, Sandisfield, Sandwich, Savoy, Sheffield, Shelburne, Sherborn, Shirley, Shutesbury, Southampton, Southfield, South Hadley, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Stockbridge, Stoughton, Stow, Sunderland, Tolland, Townsend, Truro, Tyringham, Upton, Uxbridge, Vineyard Haven, Wales, Ware, Wareham, Warren, Warwick, Washington, Webster, Wellfleet, Wendell, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, Westfield, Westhampton, Westport, West Springfield, West Tisbury, Whately, Whitman, Wilbraham, Williamsburg, Williamstown, Wilmington, Winchendon, Windsor, Worcester, Worthington, Wrentham, Yarmouth.

water fluoridation accidents:

  • AUGUST 2000 – Wakefield: Error with fluoridation equipment leads to fluoride levels as high as 23 ppm. Local health officials claim no one is affected, however news reports interview at least one resident with diarrhea and dizziness. (SOURCE: Boston Herald, 2000)

LATEST NEWS:

  • To see the latest news on fluoride developments in Massachusetts, click here.
  • To see an updated list of Massachusetts’ professionals calling for an end to fluoridation, click here.

Massachusetts’ FLUORIDATION LAW:

  • The State of Massachusetts does not mandate fluoridation.  Local governments control fluoridation policy in MA.  State law enables a community through a Board of Health order to implement fluoridation.  Implementation of fluoridation is?subject to a 90-day waiting period during which a petition for referendum may be filed opposing the practice.  City governments and citizens can discontinue fluoridation by a referendum vote.  To learn more about these laws, click here.

Of Special Interest:

DATA ON ORAL HEALTH:

  • 2008. The Oral Health of Massachusetts’ Children. By White BA, Monopoli MP, Souza BS. Catalyst Institute. January.
    Assessment and report funded in part by Delta Dental of Massachusetts and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (see acknowledgments for all funders).
    * The only mention of dental fluorosis in in one reference citation.
  • 2010. Oral Health Plan for Massachusetts 2010-2015. Better Oral Health for Massachusetts Coalition. No mention of dental fluorosis.

Massachusetts COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE REJECTED FLUORIDATION:

Community Population Date
Edgartown 4,000 April 12, 2018
Greenfield 18,168 February 9, 2017
 Amesbury 16,500 November 8, 2011
 Littleton 8,900 May 10, 2008
 Yarmouth 25,000 May 6, 2008
 Methuen 47,000 November 5, 2002
 Plainville 7,683 April 1, 2002
 Worcester 181,631
(as of 2011)
November 7, 2001
 Brewster 10,094 May 15, 2001
 Wilmington 21,363 February 15, 2000
 Barnstable (Cape Cod) 47,821 November 4, 1993

FLUORIDE POLLUTION SOURCES IN MASSACHUSETTS:

In 2008, Massachusetts ranked #38 out of 48 states for Hydrogen Fluoride releases (187,516 pounds) into the environment. The following data comes from EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). “Total releases” includes both water and air pollution. It’s important to note, however, that not all industries or sources that release fluoride into the environment are included in the TRI.

2008 Releases
(in pounds)
Type of Industry Name of Industry
68,216 Coal-fired power plant DOMINION ENERGY BRAYTON POINT LLC. BRAYTON POINT RD, SOMERSET, Massachusetts 02726 (BRISTOL)
66,000 Coal-fired power plant MOUNT TOM GENERATING CO LLC. 200 NORTHAMPTON ST, HOLYOKE, Massachusetts 01040 (HAMPDEN)
42,914 Computers/Electronics EVERGREEN SOLAR INC. 112 BARNUM RD, DEVENS, Massachusetts 01434 (MIDDLESEX)
3,369 Fabricated Metals SOMERSET POWER LLC. 1606 RIVERSIDE AVE, SOMERSET, Massachusetts 02726 (BRISTOL)
1,967 Computers/Electronics WYMAN-GORDON CO. 244 WORCESTER ST BOX 8001, NORTH GRAFTON, Massachusetts 01536 (WORCESTER)
276 Computers/Electronics ANALOG DEVICES INC/WILMINGTON MANUFACTURING. 804 WOBURN ST, WILMINGTON, Massachusetts 01887 (MIDDLESEX)
74 Computers/Electronics SCHOTT SOLAR INC. 4 SUBURBAN PARK DR, BILLERICA, Massachusetts 01821 (MIDDLESEX)

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